Young at heart

HOW TO BOOST CARDIO HEALTH IN LATER LIFE, BY CAMILLA FOSTER

- 

RHYTHM OF LIFE: Dancing will get your pulse racing

THE beginning of a new year represents a fresh start and many of us have taken up healthy habits - but have you considered your heart?

Why is exercise so important?

"Your heart is a muscle, so you want to get it working and anything that makes your heart rate go up is going to do that," says Emily McGrath, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation.

"Exercise helps lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels which reduces your risk for developing type two diabetes and heart and circulatory diseases. It also helps you maintain a healthy weight, which can help reduce your risk of heart attacks and strokes."

Staying active relieves stresser

"Stress is very strongly linked to people being more likely to pick up bad habits, such as eating badly and not doing any exercise, so we want people to be doing as much as they can to stay active," says Emily.

What activities are particularly beneficial for heart health?

"Aerobic exercise and strength training are both very important," says Emily. "The national guidelines recommend doing over 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each week, which means that you are out of breath but can still talk."

Here are five fun activities to boost your heart health in 2026...

1. WALKING

"The reason walking is so good is that you often do it with somebody else and I think that really helps motivate people," says Emily.